head to head · open source
redoc vs Apache APISIX
redoc has 25,913 GitHub stars, 2,395 forks, 449 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Apache APISIX has 17,135 stars, 2,946 forks, 235 open issues and last shipped yesterday. redoc leads on adoption by 51% (25,913 vs 17,135 stars). redoc is written in TypeScript under MIT; Apache APISIX is written in Lua under Apache-2.0. redoc has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Apache APISIX 17%. Apache APISIX was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| redoc | Apache APISIX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick redoc if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Apache APISIX if
- You want the Apache APISIX feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and Apache APISIX fits your workflow better
About redoc
Redoc is an open source tool for generating API reference documentation from OpenAPI definitions, formerly known as Swagger. It lives in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem, ships under the MIT license, and is published on npm as the redoc package. By default it renders a responsive three panel layout: a left panel holding the search bar and navigation menu, a central panel holding the documentation itself, and a right panel showing request and response examples.
read the full redoc overview →
About Apache APISIX
Apache APISIX is a dynamic, real time, high performance API gateway and AI gateway built on NGINX and etcd. It provides rich traffic management features, such as load balancing, dynamic upstream, canary release, circuit breaking, authentication, and observability. The project lives in the Lua and LuaJIT ecosystem, and it uses the Apache 2.0 license.
read the full Apache APISIX overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is redoc or Apache APISIX more popular?
redoc has 25,913 GitHub stars and Apache APISIX has 17,135. redoc has the larger community by that measure.
Are redoc and Apache APISIX free?
Both are open source. redoc is licensed under MIT and Apache APISIX under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between redoc and Apache APISIX?
redoc is written in TypeScript and Apache APISIX in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, redoc or Apache APISIX?
Choose redoc if you want the larger community (25,913 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Apache APISIX if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.